


Ezionardo snippets

by RittaPokie



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 08:25:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15020597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RittaPokie/pseuds/RittaPokie
Summary: Yeah, I have other interests! Right?? who knew? i've only ever uploaded spideypool and dragon age stuff. BUT I PLAY OTHER GAMES. just you wait, maybe one day i'll pull all my old old fanfic from when I was 15-17 off deviant art and upload it here.... MAYBe.





	1. Chapter 1

Ezio didn't think much of Leonardo when they first met. Leonardo was his mother’s friend, and by association not that fun. Also, he probably already knew some embarrassing childhood stories about him, and Ezio didn't like that.

After his father and brothers were hanged, Ezio’s life is in turmoil. Mario cares for him, of course, but he is more concerned with Ezio’s training than his emotional state. Maria is so drowned in grief that Ezio can't burden her more. And Claudia is still so young, Ezio doesn't want to ruin her youth more than it’s already been ruined. He won't lean on her. So, these things fall to the only other connection to his past he has: Leonardo.

Outside family, Leonardo is his only friend for years. Leonardo shelters Ezio in Florence, then Venice. He hears all his worries and sadness. He shares the hardships, the victories.

It begins with Ezio in grief, with no shoulder to rest his head on. So worn down by his troubles, he hasn't slept enough in more than a week and dark circles frame his eyes. He laid his father and brothers to rest, but life won't allow rest to him. He should've died with them, he thinks, he knows. He was meant to, so why did he live? Was it only to save Claudia and his mother? Why is he still alive then?

The grand destiny is lost on him. He barely knows of it and definitely doesn't want it. He has never been a killer, barely even a fighter. Revenge burns in his blood, and he needs it. He needs it, but he doesn't want it.

Leonardo hears all of this. He provokes it. From the first hidden blade he builds for Ezio, he makes it a mission to ease this assassin’s suffering. And Ezio is suffering. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so keen to lose the left ring finger. Maybe Ezio never imagined marriage, but he never imagined any sort of commitment. Until this. It's so deep in his genes that he submits entirely. Leonardo doesn't mind, but he changed the rules. Ezio doesn't have to lose anymore. Leonardo won't make him. He will, in fact, do everything he can to keep him from losing more. Starting with a finger.

Ezio doesn't open up during that visit. Or the next, or the next, but eventually. The guards assault Leonardo. They're looking for Ezio, so Ezio knows it's his fault. Leonardo doesn't mind. It isn't the first time he's been harassed like this and it won't be the last, he's sure. Ezio still blames himself. Ezio blames himself for all of it. He should've known something was wrong when he delivered the letters, should've seen. He could've done more. Leonardo won't hear it. He knows there was nothing Ezio could've done. The plans were laid a while ago and Ezio has thrown them off, if anything. Definitely, he hasn't helped them.

Leonardo lets the assassin sleep in his loft when he's in the city. Ezio has nowhere else to go, really. A tavern, maybe, but he wouldn't feel safe there. He wouldn't sleep. In Leonardo’s loft, he rests easy. He dreams, and not always nightmares.

Years pass, and Ezio opens himself more to his only friend. He'd rather be with Leonardo than anyone else, if he's honest. Endless talk of the prophecy with Mario. Claudia’s annoyed sighing and complaining. From mother...still nothing. He collects the feathers when he can. Mario doesn't think it's a worthwhile venture. Claudia chooses to ignore it most days. Leonardo tells him that he should do whatever he wants to do in his spare time, fuck what everyone else thinks. Ezio takes this advice. He spends most of it with Leonardo.

He piles the artist under codex pages. He would feel bad for it, but Leonardo seems to genuinely enjoy deciphering them. Ezio starts to like them too.

Venice is a land of opportunity, though their arrival was less than smooth. Leonardo is jealous of Caterina, but he wouldn't dream of telling Ezio that. The assassin deserves every ounce of happiness he can find, and it's not as if they could have anything in this world and life anyway. Ezio doesn't stay in Flori, either way. He travels to Venice with Leonardo.

Ezio is busier in Venice, but he finds time for his friend. He has to have somewhere to sleep, after all. He could go to the thieves guild, but Leonardo’s loft is more private. It's quiet, it's familiar. He feels safe there. Instead of sleeping, he stays up to talk to Leonardo. Even when he can barely keep his eyes open. Leonardo finds that he isn't that jealous anymore.

There is one codex page. A particular one, with a particularly complicated code. It takes them all night, the next day, and all the way to dusk again to crack it. When Leonardo finally gets the cipher, Ezio kisses both of his cheeks. The excitement gripped him, but Leonardo has captivating, bright eyes, and they make him linger. Leonardo kisses him, not on the cheeks.

And this is where the second part begins. With sleeplessness, a little wine, and a lot of relieved frustration. It is as smooth as their journey to Venice. Ezio pulls away, afraid. He doesn't feel safe in this loft for the first time, and he isn't sure why. He didn't hate the kiss, and he didn't not want it. Perhaps he has just lost so much that having something else to lose is terrifying. He doesn't know. He leaves. Leonardo doesn't fault him for it.

Ezio avoids his friend for a long time. He goes back to Flori, then Monteriggioni. He thinks of seeing Caterina, but doesn't. She is married and he doesn't know what he wants anyway. The thought of wanting Leonardo is perplexing. He can't quite recall if he ever felt anything for men as he does for women. He thinks not, but isn't sure. He was young when this all started, barely explored. There was Cristina, but she was the first. He still cares for her, but can't have her. There hasn't been time to explore his options, but it's not as if he can live a normal life now. He won't get married, he won't have a family, none of that. Claudia probably won't either, but he avoids that thought.

He returns to Venice, and to Leonardo. When he arrives, the artist is the only thing on his mind. Almost, at least. There are always a thousand things, background noise, but the thoughts he chooses are about Leonardo. His friend is sleeping when he breaks into the loft. Leonardo has never given him a key, but then he doesn't need one. He tries not to wake him, and watches him. He waits.

Leonardo wakes to the pleasant surprise, and Ezio has some questions answered very quickly. Leonardo doesn't wear clothes to bed. Ezio isn't not attracted to men. With that wondering put to rest, Ezio finds himself without choice. There is a pull between them that they both feel, but have both ignored. No more. Ezio breaks the silence, the wondering. He kisses Leonardo.

This is where the third part begins. They are not exclusive. Ezio will not pretend that his life allows other commitments. Leonardo wholly understands that. There was Cristina, there may be Caterina, and there is Rosa. But then, there is Leonardo, and that's different. Ezio can't explain why it's different, but it is.

Ezio does get injured from time to time, and one such time brings Leonardo to Monteriggioni for a brief time. Maria still doesn't look. Mario sees, but doesn't say. Claudia thinks, but doesn't know. Ezio sleeps until he wakes up worried, but nothing is true and everything is permitted. Mario would never say anything specific. Whatever keeps Ezio alive is what Ezio must do. That is his only offering. Ezio takes it for what it is. Acceptance is a strange thing, but it's so fully satisfying in a way that nothing else has been. Ezio doesn't ask what he means, and Mario doesn't say what he means. They leave it on the balcony where discussions like this belong.

Some of the other assassins don't trust Leonardo. Ezio doesn't fault them. Leonardo is no assassin, but he doesn't need to be. There always needs to be a thinker, and there always needs to be a doer. Ezio does things. Leonardo thinks. Ezio would be lost without him, but he doesn't phrase it that way to the others.

Leonardo lives in Monteriggioni for a while. Life is oddly wonderful during this time. The Borgia is gone for now, the world at peace, the apple in hand. For the first time in years, Ezio breathes.

Good things don't last. This is where the fourth part begins. Monteriggioni is lost, and Mario with it. Leonardo is long gone from the villa, but Ezio goes down and wakes up with one thought in mind. Cesare Borgia’s words haunt him night and day. The gun his friend fashioned for us. He doesn't want to tell Niccolo, but he needs to tell someone and the assassins need to know. Niccolo reacts as expected.

Ezio knows that Leonardo would never betray him, but he can't convince Niccolo of this. At least Claudia and his mother believe him. Even then, Ezio can hardly function without the artist. He remains a good assassin, he does as he needs. He barely sleeps, he barely eats. Claudia sees this, and she knows why.

She should've asked a long time ago, but didn't. She does now. The answer Ezio gives is incomplete, but then his thoughts on it are still incomplete. Leonardo is special to him. They have a bond like he has with no one else. Leonardo is his closest friend. Whether they were more depends on the definition of “more”.

Claudia finally defines what Ezio has been at a loss to capture all these years. Leonardo is not his lover. Ezio has lovers, many in many cities, but the artist is different. It has always been different with him. Leonardo is his other half. They are two sides to a single coin. Ezio needs Leonardo to be whole, and this is why he feels lost and empty. They both search and find nothing.

Leonardo finds him. This is where the fifth part begins. His heart settles in an instant, he can feel it slow down. He almost wants to sleep right then. His exhaustion hits him all at once, and in Leonardo’s eyes he sees understanding.

Ezio was right all along. Leonardo would never betray him unless he was under threat. And he is. They can't meet, not outright, but knowing that Leonardo is alive lets Ezio sleep, really sleep, for the first time in months.

The pages are lost, but Ezio still remembers one particular code. He has been thinking about it since the fall of Monteriggioni. He writes a letter in that particular code, and he hopes that it makes Leonardo smile. It does. They have to burn those letters.


	2. Chapter 2

They've been communicating in code for a while now, and it's still dangerous. It is even more dangerous for them to continue meeting but not meeting. The benches in Roma are well worn by now, their undersides all tacky with glue from the hidden letters. Ezio’s love fuels the fires of the Borgia’s displaced subjects, keeps them warm in the open night air.

Surely Leonardo’s loyalty has come into question more than once. Ezio did hear the guards who protected the machines complaining about the first prototypes, after all. Leonardo was no assassin or killer himself before this, but he may be one now.

Ezio is surprised he hasn't seen marks on Leonardo before, he assumes the man must be an incredible actor. It was bound to happen eventually, Ezio knows that. He still can hardly keep his eyes from burning on the bruise. It's superficial, and it probably hurts Ezio more than it's hurting the artist.

“Don't worry, amico mio.” Leonardo whispers. “They suspect nothing, it was about something else.”

Ezio says nothing. His eyes scan the area around them, as always. And as always, there are no signs of danger. There are guards about, and Ezio is sure at least one of them must be a tail for his friend, but they're oblivious either way. Leonardo can enjoy the view from their bench for several minutes without it being a concern. He is an artist, after all.

“Say something.” Leonardo touches Ezio’s knee lightly, quickly. A risky thing, but then they're both reckless men. “Say anything.”

“Tell me who it was.” Ezio says.

Leonardo huffs in a way that sounds like a laugh, but isn't. “No. It's not worth the risk.”

“Cazzate.” Ezio hisses. “Don't say that. It maddens me that I can't protect you.”

“We should avoid each other for a while. I will be under more scrutiny when they're angry.” Leonardo says. “Angry at both of us, even separately. They know our history… Well, not all of it.”

Ezio catches a glimpse of the artist’s smile out of the corners of his eyes. “But enough of it.” He concludes. “Stay safe. I need you alive.”

“And you too.” Leonardo says. “This will all end, eventually. It will be easier.”

\---

Ezio stops at his sister’s bordello before going to the hideout. He can't get used to thinking that, he doesn't think he ever will. The image of Leonardo hurt is still seared into his mind, and he still wants to know who is responsible. Leonardo is right, killing his handler would be foolish. It would give them away, it would let the Templars know how important Leonardo is to him. Still, he's mad right now, he can't think that logically.

Fortunately, Claudia has a clear head. She barely acknowledges him pacing in front of her desk. His cape flutters along behind him and the various weapons clank together. “I could probably get the name for you, but I won't, and after you sleep on it, you'll be glad of that.” She says.

Things have been strained between them for a long time. Really, since their father and brothers were killed. Ezio knows that he deserves most of the blame. He was just afraid of losing more. Mario’s death only made it worse. There are so few Auditores now, and each one is very precious to Ezio. Things have been easier since Leonardo found him, but Ezio still dreads a day he believes is inevitable: the day when he is the only one left.

“I know, I know.” He says, finally coming to a halt. He feels drained, exhausted. It's how things go, he is either awake and full of vigor or falling asleep on his feet. “There will come a day when I can make them all suffer…it is not today.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Rodrigo and Cesare come first, Ezio. They've done far worse than leave bruises.”


End file.
